The battle continued, but Jie had already seen enough.
Madara and Hashirama were still shaking the battlefield with every clash, but the fight had entered a pure contest of stamina. Once that happened, even a battle between legends started to drag.
It had been worth watching, even if the best part was already over.
Jie looked over the battlefield and quickly judged the result. Even with his interference, Madara would most likely still lose.
Sage Mode had made Madara much stronger, and Majestic Attire: Divine Descent had given him a way to stand against Hashirama's ultimate Wood Release. But the longer the battle dragged on, the more it favored Hashirama. His Sage body and Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode gave him endurance Madara could not match.
Madara's Divine Descent was powerful, but it constantly consumed both ocular power and senjutsu chakra. He could hold on for now, but once he began to weaken, the balance would collapse quickly. At that point, defeat would only be a matter of time.
Of course, that had little to do with Jie.
He had taught Madara Sage Mode mostly on a whim, just to see whether this timeline could change. Whether Madara actually won or lost was not something Jie actually cared about.
The battle had already been worth watching. Even if Madara and Hashirama were far below him now, their use of Wood Release and Susanoo still gave him a different kind of understanding, one the system's perfect mastery could not replace.
He had also gained a clearer sense of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode. He still had not worked out the full method, but the observation had still given him something. If he found another chance to study Hashirama later, he might be able to complete the missing piece himself.
Just then, something moved at the edge of his vision.
Jie looked over and saw a white-haired figure quietly approaching the main battlefield from the side.
Tobirama Senju.
"What is he trying to do?"
Did Tobirama think Hashirama might lose, so he planned to help? Or was he waiting for a chance to ambush Madara and end the battle quickly?
Either way, Jie had no intention of letting him interfere. A battle between two strong ninja should be decided by their own strength. A sneak attack from the side had no place in a fight like this.
Besides, Jie had never had a good impression of Tobirama.
In his own era, the Uchiha clan's situation had mostly been caused by Hiruzen and Danzo. But Tobirama, as the Second Hokage, had also planted some of the problems that came later.
Unfortunately, by the time Jie was born, Tobirama had already been dead for many years. Now that a living Tobirama was right in front of him, Jie had no reason to let the chance pass.
Madara was also his temporary student now. Letting Tobirama sneak attack him right in front of Jie would make Jie look far too careless.
Near the edge of the battlefield, Tobirama paused. For a moment, he felt as if something had locked onto him.
He immediately hid his presence and scanned the area, but found nothing. That only made him more wary.
The Uchiha had already sent most of their strength to the front line. Their strongest fighters were busy holding back the Senju. By all logic, there should not have been anyone left who could hide nearby without being noticed.
Unless they had expected him to move.
Tobirama stayed low, his senses stretched to their limit.
Above him, Jie watched quietly.
Tobirama's instincts were sharp. Even without finding Jie, he had sensed danger almost immediately.
That was already better than most ninja.
Jie raised one finger, and a tiny Rasengan formed at his fingertip. It was small, almost silent, and gave off barely any chakra fluctuation, but its power was as strong as an ordinary Rasengan.
Jie aimed casually and flicked it out like a marble. The tiny Rasengan flew less than a meter before disappearing completely from sight.
Tobirama's instincts were sharp. Jie wanted to see how far they could carry him.
Below, Tobirama remained hidden, his eyes scanning the area with extreme caution. Everything was too quiet, and that quiet itself felt wrong.
Then a deadly warning surged through him without reason.
Tobirama threw himself to the side.
The invisible Rasengan passed through the spot where he had been crouching and struck the ground behind him, leaving a small crater.
Tobirama glanced back, his face tightening.
There really was someone watching him.
Before he could think further, the same sense of danger came again. He rolled backward without hesitation, narrowly avoiding another invisible Rasengan.
Jie watched from above with some surprise.
"He dodged again?"
Tobirama's danger sense really was beyond ordinary ninja.
But two attacks were only the beginning. Jie raised his hand, and this time, five tiny Rasengan formed at his fingertips.
If Tobirama could dodge one, then Jie would give him five. If he dodged five, then Jie could always make ten.
He wanted to see where Tobirama's limit was.
The five Rasengan fell at the same time, cutting off most of Tobirama's ways out. For a moment, Tobirama barely slipped through the gaps.
But after facing several attacks, he began to find the pattern. He still could not see the Rasengan clearly, nor could he sense their chakra directly, but he started catching faint signs from the way the air and ground reacted around them.
That was enough to stop him from relying on instinct alone.
Even so, Tobirama did not dare relax.
The attacks had no clear chakra fluctuation and were almost impossible to see. More importantly, even after figuring out the attack method, he still had no idea where the attacker was hiding.
When had the Uchiha clan gained someone like this?
Up to 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk